Shelf Life of Brewing Ingredients

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jpc8015

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I bought the white IPA kit using liquid malt extract from Austin Homebrew Supply. I was overcome by events and not able to brew when I thought I was going to. I am now getting ready to go out of town for work and won't be back until June 2013. Will my kit still be good to brew in June? The specialty grains have been milled and there is five pounds of extra light LME plus three pounds of wheat LME. If it makes a difference I can keep everything in a refrigerator or freezer until I get home in June.

I know that I will have to buy new yeast...
 
If dry yeast it should be fine for that long in the fridge, and I'd guess so will the kit.
 
I put hop packets in a zip lock freezer bag in the top shelf of the freezer above the ice maker. All yeasts in the butter cubby on the fridge door. Grains & LME on the fridge shelf. They should be ok till then.
 
I have been told that grains that have been milled will last no longer than two weeks.
 
Wouldn't dispute anything said on here.

Good thing is grains are cheap to replace. Can dump em in compost bin if they've gone bad.
Hops should be no problem since they're vacuum sealed.
 
I keep them in their original bags with twist ties in the fridge. That's the larger amounts in thicker plastic bags. The small amounts that come in those tall narrow zip lock bags go in a zip lock freezer bag in the fridge for added protection
 
I put hop packets in a zip lock freezer bag in the top shelf of the freezer above the ice maker. All yeasts in the butter cubby on the fridge door. Grains & LME on the fridge shelf. They should be ok till then.

I understand you want to store grains in a cool, dry place. I would think moisture could be a problem in the fridge.
 
Not so far. I try to keep mine set at 47F. Still gets fairly cool in there. But a col dry pantry in an airtight container works too. I just think the fridge helps keep crushed grains fresh longer.
 
Hops = freezer
Yeast = fridge
LME = cooler the better. Will last a couple of years at room temperature but will darken.
Grains = dry and cool. Uncrushed grains will last for years. I see no reason why crushed grains will go off in 2 weeks. Think of flour; it is crushed grains and people use that for a couple of years. I can understand base malts loosing their diastatic power (ability to convert starches) quicker when crushed, but you are steeping, and all your extracting is some sugars and a little flavor - you should be good.
 

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